The HarperCollins Concise Guide to World Religion: The A-to-Z Encyclopedia of All the Major Religious Traditions [Paperback]

Mircea Eliade (Author), Ioan P. Couliano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 1999

The definitive dictionary of the world's religions, compiled by two of the 20th century's most distinguished religion scholars.

This highly accessible resource distils Mircea Eliade's lifework of detailing and comparing humanity's entire religious heritage, providing fascinating insights into the character and worldview of the 33 principal religions. Including Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, Judaism, Islam, Shinto, Shamanism, Taoism, South American religions, Baltic and Slavic religions, Confucianism, and the religions of Africa and Oceania, The HarperCollins Concise Guide to World Religions covers all kinds of religious figures, histories, sacred texts, mythologies, and mystical techniques.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'At once a reference work to be returned to repeatedly and a book that can be read from cover to cover.' Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions

About the Author

Mircea Eliade founded the modern study of the history of religions and wrote many books, including Essential Sacred Writings from Around the World and The Sacred and the Profane.

Ioan P. Couliano was the professional heir to Mircea Eliade and the author of Out of This World and The Tree of Gnosis.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (December 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060621516
• ISBN-13: 978-0060621513
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,458,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Historical Guide, Not A Religious One, April 26, 2003

By 

Asam Ahmad (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The HarperCollins Concise Guide to World Religion: The A-to-Z Encyclopedia of All the Major Religious Traditions (Paperback)

This book is very detailed and 'concise'. The two readers who have reviewed it looked at it as a religious book, when really it is a brilliant historical account of the basic religions of the world. And looked at from that perspective, it deserves 5 stars, because you can never detect any biasedness while reading it. You can't tell what religion the writers belong to, which gives this book a distance which is necessary when studying one of the greatest emotional tools of the world: religion.

3 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars But how do these religions effect people's lives?, July 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The HarperCollins Concise Guide to World Religion: The A-to-Z Encyclopedia of All the Major Religious Traditions (Paperback)

The title of this book, "The Harpercollins Concise Guide to World Religions," seems to be a bit of a misnomer. While it is great as a concise historical reference, it says almost nothing about the teachings of each religion. For example, the section on Christianity gives a splended account of the historical devopement of various denominations and factions, but it doesn't tell us what the Ten Commandments are, or what a Christian beileves he or she must do to get to heaven. In other words, religious values and morals are not discussed in this book to any meaningful extent, which dissapointed me quite a bit. Various conceptions of a particular divine being might be described, but we are left to wonder how a believer might apply a particular conception to their daily life. To me, this book seems to "miss the point." The fact that one of the authors lauds the book's successes in its introduction really makes one wonder. Having said that, however, I would like to repeat that this book is valuable as a quick historical reference.

2 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Far too clinical in approach...., June 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The HarperCollins Concise Guide to World Religion: The A-to-Z Encyclopedia of All the Major Religious Traditions (Paperback)

Rather than a well written and enlightened book about the world's religions, this book is excrutiatingly difficult read. It is more like a graduate student's thesis with references interrupting the flow of every other sentence. I found this book very disappointing in style, organization, and with too much information about religions that don't exist anymore. The content is there, but it is too difficult to dissect..... Find another guide that will help you understand the similarities/diffences in the world's religions. This one doesn't cut it.